Door-operating device



N. wEs'rBY DOOR GPERATINQ DEVICE Filed Aug. 30, 1926, 2 Shee-ts-Sheei 1 INVENTOR wiww - ATTORNEY Au 2 s, 192a 1,681,962

- N. WESTBY DQOR OPERATING DEVICE Filed Aug. 30, 1926* 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV/QNTOR.

AT TOHNEY:

Patented Aug. 28, 1928.

PATENT OFFICE.

NICKOLAY WESTBY, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

DOOR-OPERATING DEVICE.

Application filed August 30, 1926.

My invention relates to devices for opening and closing doors, particularly heavy doors such as used on garages, boat houses and other structures; and the object is to provide a door opening and closing device which is operated by an electric motor controlled by an electric switch and other means herein fully described. A further object is to improve on my United States Patent 1,511,697, issued October 14th, 1924.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective inside view looking at a pair of doors and adjacent ceiling upwardly as from a point on the floor just inwardly of the door.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of certain mechanical parts shown near the middle of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a modification of Fig. 1 omitting the electric motor, the doors being moved manually and connected for operation in uni: son.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged section on the line 44 in Fig. 3 showing more clearly a spring and its housing.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged elevation of the locking device located over the doors as shown in Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings by reference numerals, and 10 designate a pair of doors hinged at 11 to a wall A extending up to a ceiling B and downwardly to a floor (not shown).

On each door is secured a bracket 12 to which is fixed at 13 a cable branch 14 of a main cable 15 having several loops wound about and engaged by a shaft or drum 16 journaled in brackets 17 under the ceiling B. The shaft is rotated in either direction by having a bevel gear 18 driven by a bevel pinion 19 fixed on the shaftof an electric motor 20, as will presently be further described. Said cable branch or arm is guided by two sheaves 21 and 22 in brackets or hoods 23 and 23 fixed on the wall above the doors. and by a sheave 25 in a hood 26 which is swingably pivoted at 27 to the ceiling and also by a sheave 28 in a bracket 29 secured under the ceiling. The door 10 is likewise connected for operation by a cable branch or bight 14 guided by sheaves 22, 21, 25 and 28 and connected to the cable 15 at the point 15*. The other end or portion 15 of the cable 15 is connected to the end portions 14 of cables 14 and 14 by a collar 30 which serves also to Serial No. 132,488.

move a slidable switch yoke 31 in one direction, while a collar 30 secured on the cable 15 is arranged to move it in the other direction, the cable sliding otherwise freely through the yoke while the doors are in opening or closing motion.

The yoke 31 has a slidable portion 32 guided in grooves 33 of 'aguiding frame 34 suitably secured to the ceiling or other overhead element.

In Fig. 1 the source of electricity for opening and closing the doors is designated by an electric battery 35 delivering current over a wire 36 to a starting and reversing switch located in a wall portion A and having a bolt 37 conveying the current to a plate 36 from which it passes through a spring 41 and spring guide 42 to a collar 43 mounted on a stud 44 and having an insulated handle 45 by which to oscillate it. Said collar has two contact arms 46 and 47 adapted to contact alternately with contact elements 39 or 40, of which the former delivers current along the wire 48 to a contact plate 48 and the latter along wire 49 to a plate 49, both said plates being fixed on the switch frame 34.

At the opposite edge of said frame is fixed a longer contact plate 50 holding a wire 51 extending to a pole changer 52. which is con nected to the field of the motor by wires 54. 55 and to the armature by wires 53 and 56 and with the negative pole N of the battery by wire 56.

Fixed across the slide 32 is a or bar 57 which is at all times in the plate 50 and alternately with the shorter plates 48 and 49. A pole changer. although generally understood. is shown in 2 as having two parallel beams 58. tiltcontact pl ate able at 59 and pivoted each with one end at 60 to contact plates 61 and the other ends are movable on contact plates 62, 63, 64 when the slide 32 is moved by the obstructions 30 and 30 on the cable. The service of said obstructions is to move the switch slide and thus stop the motor when the doors are closed and also when they are fully opened. When the handle 45 is swung from one terminal to the other the current is however turned on again and the motor started in reversed direction. Meanwhile the spring 41 holds the switch in either of its two positions.

In the simple form of the device shown in Fig. 3 the motor and some of the cable and its winding drum or shaft 16 is dispensed contact with with but the cable and mechanism causing the doors to open and close in unison is maintained in the following modified form:

The sheave hoods 28 and 28 are directed toward the doors and the portions 14 of the cables 14 and 14 are secured at 65 to an eyebolt 66 which is slidable through the bottom 67 ot' a tubular housing 68 in which it has a piston-like plate 69 compressing more or less a spiral spring 70 encircling the rod between the plate and the head 67. The other end of the spring housing has a connection 71 with the end portions shown as 14 in Fig. 3'

of cables 14 and 14*. Said spring 70 is to enable the cable to stretch a trifle when the doors are passing a certain point in their swinging movement.

In this simpli tied form the doors are held closed by two hook-shaped catches 73, 78 which are pivoted at 7% to the wall above the door (see Fig. and connected by a rod 7 5 sliding through a bracket 7 6 and carrying a compression coil spring 77 which by pressing against the bracket 76 and a wing 78 on the catch 73 causes both catches to normally engage the doors to hold thenr closed until one and thereby both catches are disengaged by an upward push of a rod 79 and a hand lever 80. Said lever is fulcrumed at 81 and pivoted at one end to the rod 7 9. Said rod is normally pushed downward or disengaged by a spring 83 acting under a bearing bracket 84 on the door. The adjacent door has a handle 85 so near the lever 80 that when the operator is to open the doors and he has used lever 80 to disengage the catches, he may use said lever 80 as a handle in one hand and the handle 85 in the other hand for starting the opening of the doors and then complete the opening by pushing further at only one of the doors, as they are connected by the cables, to move in unison. To close the doors it is only necessary to push them, since the catches are beveled at 73 to enable the catches to raise automatically and then be engaged with the doors by the spring 77.

l/Vhen this modified form is used the operator must walk about and use his hands while in operating the more complete device he may sit at a desk or other place within the garage and simply press the switch handle in Fig. 1 when he sees or hears an automobile which it is desired to drive into the garage.

through the door openings.

hat I claim is:

In a structure having a wall with a door opening and two oppositely hinged doors adapted to close the opening when they are swung toward each other, sheaves arranged above the doors, a cable or similar flexible element stretched over the sheaves and attached to the doors to open and close them, a reversible electric motor in an electric circuit, operative connection between the motor and the cable, a switch starting the motor to open and clese the doors, and means operated by the cable for automatically stopping the motor when the doors are either closed or opened, the said automatic stopping means comprising a pole changer having a slidable member with a wing having an aperture, a port-ion of the cable being slidable in the said aperture and having obstructions fixed on it to act on the wing and move the slidable member alternately in opposite directions.

In testimony whereof I my signature.

NICKOLAY lVESTBY. 

